Dietitians NZ & The Nutrition Society Of New Zealand Advocate For Safe And Nutritious School Lunch Programs

In a continued commitment to promoting optimal nutrition for all New Zealanders, Dietitians NZ, along with the Nutrition Society of New Zealand, advocate for enhanced oversight and monitoring of Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch program. They emphasise the importance of ensuring students receive safe and nutritious meals, addressing key concerns and challenges, such as:

Safe Food for All Students: Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand emphasises the importance of providing safe food to all students. This means ensuring that meals meet individual requirements, such as catering for allergies, intolerances, and appropriate texture modifications.

Nutrition Criteria: Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand advocates for the continued implementation of minimum nutrition criteria in school lunch programs. While recognising the complexity of achieving comprehensive nutrition standards, Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand asserts that offering fruits and vegetables in their whole form as part of all meals should be the minimum requirement.

Timeframe and Robust Process: Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand emphasises the need for a sufficient timeframe to implement a robust process. Starting from the next school year allows adequate time for planning and developing policies to ensure the safety and quality of meals.

Dietary Variety: While advocating for nutritious meals, Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand acknowledges concerns that some proposed foods may impact dietary variety. We urge that there is a balance between nutritional adequacy and promoting diversity in food choices.

Extension to Low Decile ECEs: Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand recognises the importance of extending the school food program to low decile Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres.

Potential Impact of Cheaper Versions: There are concerns that cheaper versions of the school food program may include more processed or packaged snacks. Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand highlights the importance of prioritising whole, minimally processed foods.

Whole School Approach: Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand advocates for a whole-school approach to food provision, extending beyond primary schools to include intermediate and high schools.

Acknowledging the complexity of providing safe and nutritious food in school settings, Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand stresses the need for nutritional oversight and monitoring by qualified and registered nutrition professionals, such a Registered Dietitians and Registered Nutritionists. This includes:

• Regular auditing of nutrition criteria, ideally conducted every six months per school, to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
• Advocating for legislated audits of menu and food services by Registered Dietitians, similar to the oversight provided in rest homes, to uphold the highest standards of nutrition and food safety.

Helen Gibbs, speaking on-behalf of Dietitians NZ, commented, "Achieving safe food, meeting nutrition criteria, and addressing other factors like culturally acceptability, sustainability, and food waste are essential components of a successful school food program. There is extensive evidence of benefit of this kind of approach in the UK. Nutritional oversight from qualified and registered nutrition professionals such as Registered Dietitians and Registered Nutritionists is crucial in navigating these."

Dietitians NZ and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand urges stakeholders to prioritise the health and well-being of students by implementing robust oversight mechanisms and investing in the nutrition of our future generations.

© Scoop Media